Turning a Service Learning Experience into a Model of Student Engagement: The Lighthouse Heritage Research Connections (LHRC) Project in Hong Kong

The digital shift has provided easy access to academic library users, and yet, the usage of archival collections continues to be low. At the same time, the need for innovation in library services for cultural heritage scholarship and its advancement is emerging. This paper outlines a library-led service-learning program that connects students with lighthouse artifacts, archival collections, scholars in global academia, and wider communities. Student engagement cases are provided to illustrate the way in which the librarian utilizes the Framework of Information Literacy for Higher Education by ACRL to work closely with students. These cases also demonstrate how students can contribute to knowledge creation and preservation efforts for a specific cultural heritage topic that is not static, but which keeps receiving new contributions or additions to the depository. Thus, this paper is an answer to the ACRL's call for pilot projects to be assessed and shared with the wider community of academic librarians and support staff. It also builds on emerging roles for academic libraries like engaged learning. Librarians must move beyond simply seeing themselves as partners. Instead, librarians should see themselves as prime facilitators that co-create and co-develop cultural heritage research and historical projects by connecting actors and resources more effectively than any single actor can do alone.     

Some Aspects of the Development of the All-Russian Institute for Scientific and Technical Information

Although the USSR and the United States had a comparable number of employees in the field of scientific information, there was a substantial difference in funding, which resulted in a lack of information support for Soviet scientists. While 90% of the publications in the United States were available almost immediately after their release, in the USSR they were delayed by 1.5 to 2 years. Since the publication of the Abstracts Journal by VINITI (AJ), its content was consistently expanding and reached its peak in 1990 (1.5 million documents per year). The next quarter of a century was characterized by a decline in both the composition of the AJ and the time required for its document coverage. The steps for restructuring VINITI activities are discussed. The focus is made on improving the limited coverage of the Russian-language part of the global flow of scientific information by Western information systems.     

Scientometric Instruments of Research Funding

The issues related to funding of public research organizations are explored. The history of scientometric information systems is outlined. The advantages and disadvantages of a bibliometric approach to financing of research organizations are analyzed. The link between the assessment of the scientific and technological potential of an institution and the optimal allocation of funds is investigated. Recommendations on how to improve the efficiency of public resources allocated for scientific research are presented.     

An Analytical Review of Global Ecoinformatics Problems

Modern global eco-dynamics problems are discussed. It is noted that global changes are mostly characterized by several key features, such as their multicomponent nature, as well as interactivity and nonlinearity. These features challenge various forecast estimates in such a way that the concept of forecasting has been replaced over the last few years by a much more ambiguous concept of scenarios. The vagueness of scenarios is due to the problem of global climate change. A global climate–nature–society system model is outlined.     

Russian Science Citation Index: Areas for Development Identified by Active Users

The current state of the Russian Science Citation Index is analyzed. Several areas for its further development identified by long-standing active users, such as data searching, refinement, and storage; current user alerts; data input with the Science Index license; patent information; and the application programming interface (API) are investigated.     

Spanish historic archives’ use of websites as a management transparency vehicle

Against the backdrop of Spain’s Transparency Act, this article discusses the presence or otherwise of a series of document types, proposed as management-related transparency indicators, on 61 (8 national and 53 provincial) historic archive websites. Although examples of good practice were identified, the information provided was found to be scant, in particular as regards lines of action, organisational objectives and yearly reports. The information most commonly provided on the websites included the collection classification chart, service use regulations and citizen charters. The inference drawn was that archives, so intently focused on their role in the application of the Act by the organisations they serve, neglect their own administrative obligations in respect of its provisions. The recommendation is that as government-funded and subsidised public service institutions, historic archives should exercise transparency by furnishing the information stipulated in the Act on their websites.